MSM is a miracle supplement because it treats and prevents a wide range of conditions.
Taking MSM as a supplement for joint health, arthritis, and mobility can have a wide range of positive effects on the body. According to studies, it’s been shown to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation. You can get it as a pill, liquid, or even powder supplement, depending on your preference.
If you’re looking for the best MSM powder, you’re at the right place. Suffice to say, you should be able to get the best MSM supplement for your health needs after reading this in-depth guide. Here are some of our favorite picks.
The Top 3 Best MSM Supplements
1. The Best MSM Supplement for Joint Pain — BulkSupplements.com® MSM Powder
Suitable for vegetarians and vegans; Incredibly cheap MSM supplement; Absence of any synthetic colorants or additives: Improves collagen production; Improves hair and nails; Reduces pain and inflammation.
2. The Best MSM Supplement for Hair Growth — KALA Health MSMPure™
Get healthy joints, skin, hair, and nails; Contains OptiMSM® and is 99.9% pure MSM; GRAS-designated; Non-GMO; Gluten and allergen-free; vegan Friendly.
3. The Best MSM Supplement for Immunity — NOW® MSM Pure Powder
100% pure MSM; Promotes the growth of connective tissue and cartilage; Recommended for vegetarians and vegans; GMP certified- and non-GMO product; Contains no shellfish or tree nut products; There are no artificial colors, flavors, and no preservatives; Doesn’t contain any additives or fillers.
A Brief Overview of MSM Supplements
One of the most common sources of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is the sulfur-containing compound known as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Due to the presence of organic sulfur in both, they have similar applications. However, MSM is more readily available as a biological form of sulfur because our bodies convert most of its DMSO into it.
Green vegetables, fruits, and grains contain trace amounts of MSM in their natural form. You can also find it in various beverages and food products.
Sulfur elements are contained in MSM, a flavorless and colorless compound found in nutritional supplements. Because of its high solubility, it’s easy to alter its solubility by adding additives or other compounds to the mix.
An important mineral in the human body, sulfur, plays a vital role in numerous bodily processes. Sulfur, for example, is required by your body to repair existing connective tissues or develop new ones, manufacture certain chemicals, promote nutrients’ digestion, and process specific biological materials (food).
Most of us have difficulty getting enough sulfur in our diet. This is because sulfur-rich foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, are often missing from our diets.
Even when we consume some of these unprocessed foods, the small amount of sulfur that they contain is quickly destroyed during the cooking process. This means we’re not getting enough sulfur from our food to meet our bodies’ needs. Thankfully, MSM can supplement your body with the sulfur it needs to function, offering a remedy to this deficiency.
Seven (7) Best MSM Supplement Reviews
Many MSM supplements are sold today, and it can be quite difficult to decide which one to get. We’ve made your search easier by compiling the best brands in the market. Our picks are based on effectiveness, so you can get the most from your MSM supplements.
That said, here are the top 7 MSM supplements to look out for:
1. BulkSupplements.com® MSM Powder: The Best MSM Supplement for Joint Pain
- Dosage: 1,500mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Joint stiffness, inflammation, poor immunity
This MSM powder from BulkSupplements.com® is pure, exemplified by the fact that it’s been properly tested in a laboratory before marketing. It’s completely free of fillers and other additives that inferior MSM supplements contain. So, you won’t have any problems ingesting it even if you have food allergies and sensitivities.
Moreover, the BulkSupplememts.com® MSM Powder comes in six different sizes. These range from 100 g (3.5 oz) to 25 kg (55 lb).
This supplement not only promotes healthy joints and collagen formation but also relieves joint pain. It’ll grant you relief when you feel stiffness; it also reduces inflammation and will strengthen your immune system.
Many users have reported positive results from taking this MSM supplement. It’s fast-dissolving when added into a solution of water. Also, you can mask the supplement’s unpleasant taste by dissolving in juice.
This formula works best when taken with vitamin C-rich foods. You can incorporate the powder into shakes or smoothies if you don’t like the flavor. Also, some people may prefer to place it in an empty capsule to avoid the bad taste.
2. KALA Health MSMPure™: The Best MSM Supplement for Hair Growth
- Dosage: 4,000 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Joint pain, muscle soreness, and inflammation
It’s been over 20 years since KALA Health began selling nutritional supplements for people and pets. Customers trust them to provide high-quality products made with organically grown ingredients.
More importantly, KALA Health is the world’s leading producer of MSM. Their MSM supplement will alleviate joint pain, muscle soreness, and inflammation problems.
MSMPure™ is one of the best supplements on the market today. KALA Health’s MSM supplement—containing OptiMSM®—is also one the purest and only GRAS-designated MSM. It tops other products because of its safety and effectiveness. The company uses multi-stage distillation that removes all heavy metals and other impurities from the supplement, making it the purest and safest MSM on the market.
Another reason we think it’s safe is because it contains no artificial colors, gluten, or other allergens. You can rest assured that you’re getting a high-quality MSM supplement because every batch has been thoroughly tested.
You can incorporate MSM into your diet with the KALA Health MSMPure™. It dissolves quickly, and you can get the most benefit from it when it’s fully absorbed in your system.
Apart from joint issues, this MSM supplement will help improve hair and nail growth while giving you a fine skin texture. Notably, your skin will look younger with minimal fine lines or wrinkles.
3. NOW® MSM Powder: The Best MSM Supplement for Immunity
- Dosage: 1,800 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Joint pain; connective tissue and cartilage support
If you’re looking for a pure MSM supplement free of additives or fillers, this MSM formula has all you need.
For more than 40 years, NOW® Foods has been manufacturing natural and high-quality dietary supplements. When it comes to top-notch nutritional supplements and exceptional customer service, they’re hard to beat.
This MSM supplement will help treat your joint, connective tissue, and cartilage issues quickly. You won’t have to worry about unpleasant side effects because there are no unnecessary additives or fillers in the product.
NOW® MSM Powder also doesn’t contain any animal products, making it a great MSM product for vegans. This powder supplement offers a whopping 1,800 mg of MSM per serving, making it an extremely potent supplement. Its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties are also due to its high MSM content, making it one of the best MSM supplements on the market.
4. Source Naturals® MSM
- Dosage: 2,400 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Inflammation, joint pain, and hair growth
Source Naturals® MSM is fortified with OptiMSM®, which is known to be pure and safe. It’s the only MSM that has been given the GRAS seal of approval.
Source Naturals® made this supplement following the four-stage distillation process to get a high-quality and pure form of MSM. Using this supplement is a great way to combat sulfur deficiency in your diet. Moreover, it doesn’t contain additives like gluten, corn, soy, or wheat.
Source Naturals® MSM is also free of preservatives and artificial colors and flavors. Adding vitamin C to this MSM brand makes it even more effective and powerful because both work together to create new healthy cells and connective tissues. The new cells are more flexible and permeable, allowing more fluids to move through the tissue.
You’ll feel healthy when you use this formula because your body will be able to eliminate toxins easily. Also, the supplement will aid in the reduction of inflammation and pain.
Furthermore, Source Naturals® MSM will help improve your skin texture, making you appear younger and healthier on the outside. You’ll also get softer skin, a smooth complexion, and better hair texture and nails. Finally, there are no harmful side effects from using Source Naturals® MSM because it only contains pure MSM.
5. Doctor’s Best® MSM Powder
- Dosage: 3,000 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Improves knee joints and formation of cartilage
Doctor’s Best® is a well-known dietary supplement brand, and this formula offers a purely natural solution for joint problems. If you’re struggling with arthritis and osteoarthritis, using Doctor’s Best® MSM powder will help promote your joint health. It also provides a healthy immune response and antioxidant defense.
Additionally, Doctor’s Best® MSM Powder contains OptiMSM® — a potent and highly purified form of MSM. This supplement has gone through four stages of purification to remove heavy metals and other contaminants. As such, it’s safe, effective, and pure.
This supplement effectively fights sulfur deficiency in the body that may arise due to the low sulfur content in our foods. For one, cooking and processing foods significantly reduce the amount of MSM found in most foods. Hence, it’s critical that you maintain a steady sulfur supply in your system.
Suffice to say, this sulfur source supports the maintenance and formation of cartilage in knee joints. It also enhances knee joint health and function.
Also, you should know that this MSM supplement has no traces of GMOs or gluten. Additionally, it doesn’t include any preservatives, additives, or fillers.
A 250 g (8.8 oz) package offers approximately 83 servings of 3 g each, so each bottle will last. Lastly, Doctor’s Best® MSM is one of the best MSM supplements on the market as there’s barely any report of significant side effects from users.
6. Jarrow Formulas® MSM
- Dosage: 1,000 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Boosts cartilage protein and amino acid profile; aids detoxification
This MSM supplement doesn’t feature any additives like wheat, gluten, soybeans, or dairy. It’s also devoid of eggs and shellfish, making it suitable for vegans.
Moreover, Jarrow Formulas® MSM is free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It makes use of OptiMSM®, ensuring that you receive a high-quality, pure, and safe MSM supplement.
This formula helps your body get rid of toxins, regenerate cells and build new healthy ones.
Sulfur is one of the elementary units of many biomolecules, including amino acids, enzymes, hormones, collagen, neurotransmitters, and much more. It’s also needed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of everything else you put into your body. This is especially true considering that sulfur serves as a transport medium to transport minerals in the body.
In terms of benefits, this supplement can help strengthen your bones and connective tissues. It also improves your immune system, skin, nails, and hair if you take it every day.
7. Hard Rhino™ MSM
- Dosage: 2,000 mg per serving
- Form: Powder
- Uses: Improves bone health; enhances healthy joint tissue
Hard Rhino™ has a reputation for using only the best ingredients, with every ingredient undergoing a purity test. It’s no surprise their MSM supplement is one of the most effective sulfur supplements on the market.
Hard Rhino™ MSM contains nothing but pure MSM, quickly absorbed into the body. This MSM supplement has no fillers or additives, so it’s safe to consume.
Regular intake of this formula promotes healthy joint tissue and reduces muscle damage and wear. This Hard Rhino™ supplement also enhances bone health.
You can easily dissolve it in water or your favorite beverage. Suffice to say, Hard Rhino™ MSM is an excellent choice if you’re taking MSM for the first time, considering that many customer reviews indicate it has little to no aftertaste.
How to Choose the Best MSM Supplement: Buyer’s Guide
This comprehensive buyer’s guide addresses all you need to know about MSM supplements and what to look out for before selecting one. But first, let’s examine if you truly need this formula.
Do You Genuinely Need an MSM Supplement?
People take MSM mostly because it helps improve joint health and flexibility. Research shows that MSM can help decrease oxidative stress after exercise and can help alleviate joint pain.
MSM has also been suggested to remedy many ailments, such as cancer, liver disease, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, obesity, lung disease, high cholesterol levels, and even HIV. Current studies are being conducted to test the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of MSM on inflammation-related diseases, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction.
MSM serves as a source of sulfur for the body’s production of other chemicals. It helps minimize inflammation and oxidative stress via various biological pathways and mechanisms.
MSM has also been linked to pain relief, although the exact mechanism is still unknown. A possible explanation for this could be that sulfur inhibits the body’s ability to produce the hormones that cause pain.
Professional athletes use MSM supplements to improve their performance. MSM can also aid the process of ensuring that the body’s glutathione levels remain stable.
Factors to Consider When Buying the Best Quality MSM Supplement
From the above benefits, it’s clear that MSM supplements are essential to health. However, there are many MSM brands, which can be overwhelming at first glance.
If you don’t know what to look for when looking for an MSM product, here are four tips you should keep in mind. This guide empowers you to appropriately decide which is best for you.
Price
A variety of options are available when buying MSM supplements, with some costing less than others. The more expensive brands are usually very effective. However, it isn’t always a bad idea to go with a more affordable option.
Choosing a supplement brand shouldn’t be about price alone. It’s always a good idea to do your research and compare various supplements side by side before purchasing one.
Additives/Binder
Additives and fillers found in most MSM products could reduce sulfur’s absorption and effectiveness in your body. The sulfur must be pure and free of any additives to be useful and safe.
It’s important to add that additives or fillers don’t necessarily render an MSM supplement ineffective. However, you don’t want to buy a supplement that offers only a small amount of sulfur. If you want to get the full relief and benefits of MSM, use only the best brand of MSM supplement that gives you the most out of your supplementation.
Type of MSM Supplement
There are a variety of MSM supplements on the market. They come in various forms, including tablets, capsules, liquids, and crystals. Each formulation has its advantages and disadvantages, as we’ll examine below.
Capsules/Tablets
Taking MSM in its organic sulfur crystal form can be very bitter, explaining why many find it difficult to ingest it. Tablets are a more convenient option and also come at a small price.
The quality of the product is sacrificed a little when MSM is made in tablets and capsules because they often contain binders and fillers. That’ll significantly impact the amount of ingredients that your body absorbs.
Liquids
People with a hectic schedule will appreciate the convenience of MSM in liquid form. Being in a liquid form means you don’t have to wait for it to dissolve before using it. Namely, your body can absorb the ingredients more easily and quickly.
Powder
Powder MSM is also a highly convenient form of MSM supplements. It allows for easy mixing into your favorite smoothies or drinks of choice.
The powder supplement will disintegrate relatively quickly, and we usually recommend that people take only pure MSM. To keep the powder from clumping, the powder may feature some anti-caking ingredients, affecting the supplement’s absorption and effectiveness.
Crystals
If you’re looking for the purest form of sulfur, you may want to opt for the crystal form of MSM. These lumpy white crystals of MSM are the purest and are usually additive-free. Since these crystals are largely unaltered from their natural state, you can rest assured that you’re getting the purest MSM possible.
However, the bitter taste of crystals is one of its drawbacks. Also, because the crystal form is of higher quality, it’s usually much more expensive than other forms of MSM supplements.
Read Product Reviews
It’s always a good idea to look into an MSM brand’s reputation before settling for their product. If most of the reviews are positive, the product is likely good. However, even if you notice only a few people have tried it, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad product.
So, if you’re not sure, the best way to be certain is to at least try it out. Also, when looking at reviews, remember that we all have our differences, meaning that results may differ across individuals.
Health Benefits of MSM Supplements
Here, we highlight in detail the most probable reasons why people lean towards MSM supplements.
Relieves Joint Pain and Stiffness
MSM supplements help initiate the formation of new joints and muscle tissue in the body while reducing inflammation — the reason for the stiffness and swelling in the joints.
Also, joint degeneration is a major culprit of aches and pains in various body parts. If left treated, this degeneration could negatively impact your quality of life by restricting your mobility.
MSM is commonly applied to remedy joint pain, stiffness, arthritis, and muscle pain.
Increases Muscle Recovery
MSM can serve as a natural analgesic to treat and prevent muscle aches and pain. After an intense workout, the muscle may experience damage due to increased oxidative stress. You’re more likely to experience muscle soreness and pain when this happens.
This can be a huge problem for professional athletes because it may affect their performance or even hinder them from carrying on with their training.
Suppose you frequently experience muscle pain due to regular exercise. In that case, it might interest you to know that MSM can serve as a natural solution to speed up muscle recovery after an exhaustive physical exercise. It does so with the help of sulfur in the body.
Notably, MSM helps repair and replenish the tissue cells in our muscles broken down during an intense workout, thereby reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.
Boosts Immunity
Studies have revealed that sulfur-based compounds like MSM can positively improve the immune system’s health. Your immune system is responsible for protecting your body against sickness and diseases. It consists of several cells, tissues, and organs with specialized roles.
The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties of MSM enhance your immune system. When you experience inflammation and increased oxidative stress, it can weaken your immune system making you more susceptible to diseases.
However, when MSM enters the bloodstream, it drastically reduces the amount of the inflammatory compounds responsible for inducing stress on the immune system. Also, this supplement plays an essential role in the production of glutathione, a master oxidant in your body responsible for maintaining your immune health.
Useful for Fighting Cancer
Although not much has been realized regarding evidence that MSM fights cancer, the results so far have been encouraging.
Various in-vitro studies indicate that MSM attacks cancer cells from the colon, esophageal, bladder, stomach, and liver. A possible explanation for this is that MSM accomplishes this by destroying the DNA of cancer cells, thereby causing the cancer cell to die.
There’s still ongoing research to discover the effectiveness of MSM in suppressing the growth of cancer cells.
Repairs and Improves Skin
Keratin—an essential protein found in the hair—contains a high amount of amino acid cysteine, laden with sulfur. Also, your skin and nails are made up of keratin.
Several studies have shown that topical products (like cream) made with silymarin and MSM can help your skin. Namely, they reduce inflammation that damages the skin cells and causes conditions such as allergies, wrinkles, skin discoloration, rosacea, and slow healing wounds.
MSM can help repair and improve skin health by adding sulfur to keratin. Notably, it strengthens the protein and reduces your risk of skin inflammation.
MSM also increases collagen production, which works with the keratin to give the “youthful compounds” for better skin. Finally, most MSM supplements are combined with other antioxidants like vitamin C, A, and E, to help build new skin cells.
Using MSM Supplements and Dosage
As we mentioned earlier, you can purchase MSM supplements in tablets/capsules, powder, liquid, or crystal form, depending on your preference. However, if you desire the best MSM supplement for skin health specifically, you should consider buying a topical product, such as lotion or cream, that’s majorly based on the compound.
Presently, there are no official dosage instructions for taking MSM. However, you can either seek your doctor’s advice on how to take it or follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the MSM supplement.
We usually recommend that you seek approval or advice from a health practitioner before taking an MSM supplement. That way, you’ll be able to circumvent any contraindications should you have any medical condition that may worsen with MSM supplementation.
If you have no health issues, you can safely follow the recommended dosage by the MSM formula manufacturer. Some people, however, need more MSM than others to get the benefits of this supplement.
Most manufacturers recommend users take between 1,000 mg to 4,000mg per day. Using over 5,000 mg per day is deemed excessive and only advisable when you have extreme pain or swelling. If you experience minor stomach upset when taking too much MSM, cut down on the dosage and fall back to the recommended amount.
Taking MSM with a natural form of vitamin C or juice makes it more effective. Also, if it’s your first time taking MSM, we advise starting slow and progressing to higher doses. This’ll allow room for your body to get used to the supplement.
Best MSM Supplement: More FAQs
What’s the best MSM supplement for joint pain?
Although most MSM supplements prove effective for joint pain and stiffness relief, some stand out more than others. If you’re struggling with joint pain, we recommend getting the BulkSupplements.com® MSM Powder. Apart from being fast-dissolving, most customer reviews acclaim its effectiveness in managing joint pain.
What’s the best time of day to take an MSM supplement?
You can take MSM supplements twice a day, depending on the dosage instructions. However, it’s recommended that you take it during the day because MSM makes people very active, and it may affect your sleep.
What’s the best form of MSM supplement?
The best MSM supplement form is crystal sulfur — it’s the purest form of MSM compared to the powdered or capsule forms. Also, the crystal is better because you don’t need to worry about clumping when mixing in liquid. Additionally, it’s easy to store the crystals, unlike the other forms of this product.
Are there any MSM supplement side effects?
MSM has been tested and proven to be safe for use. However, some people may experience mild side effects like nausea, bloating, stomach discomfort, or diarrhea from using MSM supplements.
What’s the best MSM supplement for hair growth?
MSM can add more sulfur to the keratin found in your hair, which originally has a high sulfur content. It’ll promote the growth of healthy hair that feels more elastic and strong since it contains sulfur. We recommend you use the KALA Health MSMPure™ to get the best benefits for your hair.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve always wanted to purchase the best MSM supplement for your health, we hope this guide points you in the right direction. However, keep in mind that not all MSM brands are created equal. You should weigh the benefits of different MSM supplements to make a better choice, as some people may be more sensitive to one brand than others. A good way to determine if a product is right for you is to look at its components and read credible customer reviews.